Why 49ers Wide Receiver Quinton Patton Faces Make-or-Break Year in 2015

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Quinton Patton has been accustomed to a background role since being selected in the fourth round (No. 128 overall) in the 2013 NFL draft.

He’s been very much used to playing second, third or, if going by the season finale's box score, sixth fiddle in the 49ers' passing attack.

Outside of the regular-season finale in 2013 against the Arizona Cardinals and last year’s final two games, Patton has essentially been a ghost in this Niners offense. And even in those three contests, the former standout at Louisiana Tech totaled merely five catches for 78 yards and two runs for 46 yards.

Throw in a dropped pass from Week 3 of 2013 and a costly lost fumble in the defeat to the San Diego Chargers last season, and Patton’s career with the red and gold has been anything but stellar. Let’s also not forget that he’s been inactive in more games than ones in which he’s played.

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That’s a tough pill to swallow for the Niners’ personnel directors, who envisioned more for the 6’0”, 204-pounder after he ranked No. 5 in the NCAA with 104 receptions for 1,392 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2012.

The same goes for the wideout whom CBS Sports pegged as a second-round pick, whom ESPN.com called “one of the more polished route-runners of the entire class” and whom NFL.com compared to Reggie Wayne—the league’s all-time leader among active players with 1,070 catches and 14,345 receiving yards.

While you should take the last one with a grain of salt, the idea of Patton’s unrealized potential remains.

OK, but why would this year be any different? Why would 2015 qualify as a make-or-break campaign, especially when Patton's rookie contract runs through 2016 and this 49ers offense is so deficient at wide receiver?

Historical Misfortune, Zero Obstacles, Early-Round Future Replacements

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The 49ers are far from impatient when it comes to player development.

General manager Trent Baalke believes in methodically building through the draft and nurturing hand-picked, developmental assets.

The raw but talented Colin Kaepernick, defensive-end-turned-fullback Bruce Miller and offensive lineman Daniel Kilgore represent three of many such players whom this Niners organization has patiently developed over the years.

All three mentioned above have achieved some measure of success due to this systematic treatment as well.

Yet as it applies to wide receiver, such tolerant and effective grooming hasn’t occurred in recent seasons.

Jason Hill (2010), Kyle Williams (2013) and A.J. Jenkins (2013) serve as prime examples of receivers whom the Niners cut or traded within their first four years in the league. Draft position also played no part in their dismissal, as these pass-catchers arrived via the third, sixth and first round, respectively.

Patton, for his part, enters his third NFL campaign in 2015. And unlike his past two seasons—especially last year—the fourth-round pick has no excuses and faces zero obstacles to earn playing time.

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Patton was up against a loaded—only on paper, as it turned out—depth chart in 2014. Incumbents Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree sat firmly atop the pecking order. Stevie Johnson (trade), Bruce Ellington (draft) and Brandon Lloyd (free agent), meanwhile, were all noteworthy acquisitions over the offseason.

Yet as Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area reports, Crabtree, Lloyd and Johnson will probably become personnel casualties in this 2015 offseason. The former two free agents qualify as either unproductive or aging, while the latter brings an untenable $6.025 million cap hit.

Even if Johnson accepts a reduced salary, Patton must only contend with him, Boldin and Ellington. No other returning veteran with experience in the 49ers offense will prevent Patton from receiving meaningful snaps.

That said, although Baalke won’t cut Patton due to the presence or production of another wideout this year, he likely won’t afford such roster security next season.

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The ominous fourth year arrives for Patton in 2016, and a certain Niners general manager has his sights set on his future replacement in the upcoming draft.

“I think it’s no mystery that we’re looking for guys that can run and get down the field,” Baalke said when asked about wide receivers at the NFL Scouting Combine, via Maiocco.

Fellow scribe Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee further noted that “Baalke mostly shied away from what was considered the best wide-receiver draft class in recent memory” last year. He waited until Round 4 for Ellington due in part to draft-day failures Jenkins and LaMichael James in 2012.

Barrows added, however, that “Baalke and the 49ers seem prepared to plunge back into the wide-receiver pool in May.”

And whether it's Kevin White, Amari Cooper or even Devin Smith and his “much needed deep-threat speed,” per Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News, one of these first-round wideouts would put considerable pressure on Patton by next season.

White ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 with 109 receptions. He also offers 6’3” size and ran the third fastest 40-yard dash among receivers at the combine (4.35 seconds). Cooper and Smith weren’t too far behind at 4.42 seconds, while each one led his conference in receptions and yards per catch, respectively.

All three racked up at least 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2014, to boot.

DeVante Parker, Jaelen Strong and Dorial Green-Beckham form yet another trio of big-bodied, field-stretching weapons whom Baalke could target early in the draft.

Parker notched a lethal 19.9-yard average per catch, Strong ranked No. 4 in the Pac-12 with 10 receiving touchdowns and Green-Beckham led the SEC with 12 scores last time he suited up in 2013.

The point is that Patton must elevate his game in 2015, because if he does not, Niners fans will likely be referencing him in the past tense come this time next offseason.

All team and player statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. All contract information courtesy of Over The Cap.

Joe Levitt is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, waxing academic, colloquial and statistical eloquence on the San Francisco 49ers. Follow him on Twitter @jlevitt16